While visiting Paris, we took a day trip to Giverny France, home of the Impressionist artist Claude Monet. He is our favorite painter. Right now is the perfect time to go, as the gardens are breathtaking, looking just they do in his paintings. We took a train to Vernon, leaving from the Gare St. Lazare station. We then took a short bus ride into Giverny. There really isn’t much there except Monet’s house. Photography is not allowed inside. I found it fascinating though, that the artwork covering his walls were of Oriental nature. There is a gift shop at the end of the house tour where you can buy prints and other souvenirs. Walking around the grounds, you find hundreds of kinds of flowers, including the famous water lilies. I personally believe his best water lily paintings are housed in the Musee de l’Orangerie. These painting span several feet across the wall! For information on getting to the gardens, you can visit this site. Enjoy!

When we were in Paris this last time, we were ready to head up to the 3rd level of the Eiffel Tower. But it was overcast, windy, and unbelievably crowded. We decided against it. So on the ground I tried to take different shots of the tower, even though after that, I have seen similar pictures. I didn’t expect to like these so much. I think they make a great screen saver, which I do have for my Ipad or this blog! Great framed too 🙂 You can also see these at etsy.com.

My favorite kind of photography is night photography. I love getting the car headlight trails in front of a nice subject. I call these “swishy pictures” since the car lights are all blurry and swishy. Here are a couple of my favorite: the roundabout at the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, and Big Ben with traffic on the Westminster Bridge. When I was preparing my tripod and camera for the London pic, some drunk kids came by, and I got a perfectly framed shot of someone mooning me! I chose not to capture that image 🙂 You can also see these photos on etsy.com.

For some reason, when I travel to other cities, I am fascinated by the street lights. I guess they just make it feel “big city” for me. I grew up in rural areas, the closest city light being the flashing light at 4-way stop sign. So throughout my posts, I will feature various street lamps from different places. This one here, is my favorite in the world! The ornate street lamps on the Alexandre III bridge in Paris. If I had money to burn, I would replicate one of these for my front yard. You can also see this photo at Etsy.com.